


a study in spirits

by JkWriter



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Ghosts, Good Brother Diego Hargreeves, Growing Up, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, M/M, Protective Diego Hargreeves, Running Away, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, haunted
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-01 21:16:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17874998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JkWriter/pseuds/JkWriter
Summary: a study of klaus through the years





	1. childhood

He’s useless. 

Everyone else has something worth talking about. One is strong, two has amazing abilities with a knife, three can get anything she wants, five can hops through space, six can possess monsters, and seven can play violin. What can he do? Sit there and try not to break down with dozens of ghosts constantly following him around. It’s a losing battle and it’s only a matter of time before the ghosts win. 

Six tries to help. He appreciates the effort but what can Ben do? His weird demon things aren’t able to stop the ghosts. Klaus just wants them to stop. Go away. He wants to be normal. Ordinary. 

It’s not fair, he thinks. Vanya’s ordinary but all she wants is to be a freak like them. He’d give anything to be like her and not have to worry about the voices in his head breaking him down. He wants the normalcy. The ordinary life. Just he, himself, and maybe a violin. Klaus thinks he’d be good at violin. 

“You could ask Vanya to teach you.” Ben says. They’re sitting together on Ben’s bed. Thighs touching and the world silent. It isn’t going to last but these days Klaus takes any peace he can get. 

“Nah. I doubt she’d want to spend the time.” He says back. Ben’s huffs and goes back to reading his book. Klaus gave it to him last week. It has to do with vampires. He doesn’t tell Ben how he got the book. Somethings are better left a secret. 

“We both know that isn’t true.” Ben turns the page. “Vanya loves spending time with you.” It’s true. Vanya tries to spend time with all of them. She still clings to the idea that she’s not ordinary and her powers are going to come one day. Klaus doesn’t see the harm in dreaming. He does it too. 

“Correction. She tolerates me.” Your sister doesn’t love you. “Fuck off, Martin. Or James. I can’t remember which one you are.” He says to the spirit hovering just out of sight. 

“They back?” 

“Yup.” 

“I’m sorry.” Ben says. Then he gets quiet. Ben doesn’t know how to help. No one does. 

“They’ll go away eventually.” He says. The ghosts materialize in the room. “Tell me about your book.” 

Ben starts talking. Klaus lays back on the bed. He shuts his eyes and just listens. He listens to the story Ben is telling and not to the ghosts still desperately trying to get his attention. He wants to tell them to fuck off again but that’s giving them the attention they crave. It’s better to let them get frustrated and leave on their own. 

“Anyways, I think Victor is going to die at the end.” 

“Why’s that?” 

_“The hero doesn’t always win.”_

Ben’s right. The hero doesn’t win. Five goes missing and their daddy dearest ups their training. They don’t have time to talk anymore. Ben’s always working with Pogo outback and Klaus is forced to face the spirits always surrounding him.

“You need to face your fear, number four.” His dad says. Then he’s locked in a mausoleum. Klaus didn’t think anything could be worse than when he lost his brother but he was wrong. 

“LET ME OUT.” He screams, fists pounding against the door. At least, he thinks it’s the door. It’s so dark. He can’t see anything except the eerie glow of the spirits as they surround him. They scream his name. They scream their stories. Murdered. Suicide. Botched surgery. Car accident. 

The worst are the ones who don’t clean up. Maybe they don’t know how to or maybe they want to be remembered like this. Blood covered faces, exposed bones, intestines spilling out. They’re the ones Klaus will remember long after he’s been freed. 

“DAD!” He screams. “BEN. VANYA. FIVE. SOMEONE HELP ME.” 

No one comes and Klaus is alone. Ben was right. The hero doesn’t always win, but then again, Klaus wasn’t a hero, was he? 

His dad comes for him the next morning. None of the other kids noticed he was gone. Except for Ben. It’s always Ben.

“Where were you last night?”

“Nowhere.” He says. He skips breakfast. His dad doesn’t try to stop him. Mom smiles and Pogo brings him water. 

“Your father loves you.” Pogo says. Klaus laughs. 

“Yeah, well he’s got a fucked up way of showing.” 

“Language, Klaus.” Klaus falls onto his bed. Pogo backs out and shuts the door. “I will be back to check on you later.” 

Only it isn’t Pogo who opens the door next. Ben sneaks in with a plate of eggs. 

“I know they said to let you rest but you should eat. Mom let me bring you up some breakfast.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Oh. Okay, then I’ll set them down here and you can have them when you’re ready.” Ben puts the eggs on Klaus’ dresser and doesn’t leave. He’s staring at his brother. Klaus looks terrible. Worse than Ben had ever seen him. Klaus is the happy one. He’s the one who’s always cracking jokes and making everyone smile. He isn’t supposed to look so tired, so broken. 

“Door’s open. You can leave anytime.” Klaus’ face presses down into his pillow. His words are muffled. He can’t see Ben, so Ben doesn’t leave. He shuts Klaus’ door but sits on the bed next to his brother. “What’re you doing?” Klaus says, or at least Ben thinks he says that. 

“Go to sleep, Klaus. I’m here.” 

Klaus wants to tell Ben that he’s not a child and Ben doesn’t need to stay with him but then Ben starts playing with his hair and the protest dies in his throat. 

He wakes up rested for the first time in weeks. Ben’s still in bed, asleep next to him. Klaus decides today is going to be a good day. He stays in bed, curled up next to Ben, until Ben opens his eyes. 

“How come you’re still in bed?” Ben sits up dragging Klaus with him. 

“I didn’t want to wake you up.” Klaus says. 

“Well, I’m up now. Come on, let’s get to breakfast before Dad comes looking for us.” 

The two boys get up. They don’t mention that they’re wearing yesterday’s clothes. They don’t mention that Klaus still looks like absolute hell. They don’t mention how they stayed by each other’s side. 

They don’t mention how Klaus finds his way into Ben’s room the next night. Some secrets are meant to stay secrets after all. 

 

The hero doesn’t always win but sometimes they find something to hold onto.


	2. after ben

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ben dies and takes whats left of klaus' sanity with him

Ben dies and takes what left of Klaus’ sanity with him. 

It’s funny. Klaus never thought Ben would die. Why would he? They’re part of the Umbrella Academy, they’re unstoppable.. Sure, there was the scare with Five but he hadn’t shown up to haunt Klaus yet. Five would have done that if he was dead therefore he wasn’t. Klaus wanted to say the same thing about Ben, but then his brother showed up. Bloodied and bruised, Ben stands at the foot of Klaus’ bed. He looks scared, terrified even. 

“Klaus?” 

Klaus stares. He tries not to scream. Except that he does. He screams and screams. He keeps screaming long after Diego bursts in with Allison and Vanya close behind. No one asks why he’s screaming. No one asks why their dad grabs Klaus by the wrist and pulls him out of his room and eventually the house. Klaus doesn’t stop screaming the whole walk to the mausoleum. Even then, he only stops once the doors shut, enclosing him in the darkness, because he can’t scream anymore. His voice is raw, his throat hurts, and his dear old father had told him to get a hold of himself before he spends the next week locked in the darkness.

Ben follows them. He’s standing in the corner, staring at Klaus with horror. The situation was finally setting in, Ben was realizing he was dead. Maybe that would mean he wouldn’t follow Klaus screaming for help. Maybe Ben would move on. Klaus hoped he would move on. He loves his brother, but he doesn’t think he’ll be able to stand seeing him like this anymore. 

“Oh my god, Klaus…” Ben walks towards him. Klaus scrambles back against the wall. He’s pretty sure he bumps into the spirit of the old lady who was killed by her children for insurance. She’s always cold, colder than the rest and extremely bitter. “Klaus why are we...Is this where dad takes you? For training?”

Klaus doesn’t answer. The other spirits are already surrounding him. He covers his ears and tries to block out their noises. “I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you. You’re not here. You’re not here,” he says. It’s his usual method of blocking them out. Sometimes it even works. Today was not one of those times.

Ben just stares at Klaus. For the first time in his life, he’s seeing the spirits, the monsters that haunt his brother. When they were younger Klaus tried describing what it was like to constantly see them. Ben didn’t understand. He couldn't understand. But now, standing here and seeing them converge on his brother, he did. And he wasn’t about to sit back and do nothing while Klaus screamed and begged to be left alone. 

“HEY!” Hungry eyes turn to him. Ben doesn’t know what to do next. He didn’t think this far ahead. His only plan was to get their attention off of Klaus and now that it’s gone he’s at a loss. “Leave him alone,” he says definitely, daring the spirits to come for him. And they try to. Try being the keyword. Because Klaus announces his presence with a loud, “NO. DON’T TOUCH HIM.”

Ben’s blown back by the power coming from his brother. He falls, if it’s possible for a ghost to fall, onto the floor opposite of Klaus. Klaus doesn’t hesitate running to Ben’s side. Even though Klaus can’t touch him he wants to be there. Ben just died. And now he’s trying to play the hero for his brother. His weak brother who can’t even conjure up their missing sibling. The one who should be dead. 

“Klaus?”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry you’re stuck here. I’ll find a way to get you out. We’ll get you to the afterlife.” 

“Klaus, just shut up for a minute.” Ben sits up. He and Klaus sit leaning against the wall. The spirits stare at them but don’t dare come any closer. “Klaus…Has this happened before?”  
Klaus laughs. He’s only crying. “My dear brother, the spirits are always there.” 

“That’s not what I meant.” Ben says. Klaus is silent. He’s not looking at Ben, instead he stares at the ghosts across from him. 

“The old lady, her kids killed her for insurance money,” Klaus says, pointing in the direction of her resting place. “She’s been trying to find peace for years. I don’t know how to help. Michael over there,” Klaus points to a spirit covered in blood and barely held together. “He was killed in a hit and run. He’s a bit more angry about his death. Likes to yell.” 

Ben listens as Klaus goes through each of the ghosts and explains who they are. Their screams grow louder as Klaus talks about them to the point that Ben struggles to hear his brother. 

“Oh my god. This is awful.” 

“I know, but I don’t know how to help them.” 

“No, the fact that dad locks you in here.” Ben says. Klaus shrugs and Ben wonders how often he must have found himself imprisoned to have this kind of reaction. 

“It’s gonna help me.” 

“Is it? Because to me it looks like dad’s torturing you.” Klaus flinches at the word “torture” which Ben takes as Klaus realizing what he’s going through. “This isn’t good. We’ve gotta get out of here.” 

Ben stands up. Klaus watches him. It’s weird because Ben is doing the weird floating but not floating thing all the spirits do. It’s also weird because Ben still looks like he died. Which he did die, but Klaus didn’t want him to look like it. 

Ben tries to help Klaus, he really does, but when he goes to try and open the door he falls through. 

“Ben?” Klaus says, straightening himself. He doesn’t stand, not wanting to welcome the spirits anymore than he already has, but he watches the spot his brother had fallen through. “Ben, you good?” 

“I’m fine.” Comes Ben’s muffled response on the other side of the door. “It’s locked.” He says, stepping back through the wall. “He put a padlock on the door.” 

Klaus shrinks back. He didn’t know what he was expecting. That Ben might actually be able to help? Ben was nothing more than a spirit. He was dead. He falls through walls and doesn’t breathe. Which is kind of like Two and Five. Diego can hold his breath and Five could sort of walk through walls. Klaus would have to ask if he ever managed to conjure him up, or if he ever decided to come back home. 

“Klaus?” Ben stares at him with concern. Which, is fine. Except it’s not. Ben shouldn’t be concerned, not with Klaus. Klaus doesn’t deserve it. 

“Huh?”

“I asked when he’ll be back.” 

“Oh,” Klaus says. When would dad be back? The last time it had taken two days before his father decided to show up. “I dunno. Could be in the morning, could be a couple days.”  
Ben frowns. And then he sits back down next to Klaus. Klaus shivers from the gust of cold air. Then it’s gone. Which was weird. The cold didn’t usually go away so quickly. Then again, it had been a long time since Klaus was comfortable with one of his spirits. 

“You know,” Klaus begins. He takes off his jacket and balls it up to be a pillow. “you don’t have to wait around here. You can go somewhere else. It’s gonna be boring watching me scream for three days.” 

“Are they usually quiet like this?” 

Klaus looks at the spirits. For once they’re uninterested. They’re still wailing for help, but their anger and frustrations aren’t directed at the young medium. 

“Nope. I guess they realized I’m busy with another client.” 

“Then I’m staying.”

“Ben, really. I’ll be fine. I’ve gone through this before. All is going to be fine and dandy.” Klaus lays down on his makeshift pillow. He was going to take full advantage of the semi-quiet spirits to sleep before they got too loud. 

“I don’t care. It’s not like any of the others can hear me.” They both go quiet. “Besides, you were always my favorite sibling.” 

Klaus closes his eyes. He tries to hide it, but Ben notices the smile. 

“Thanks, Ben,” he says. 

 

The spirits are still yelling and Klaus will have to deal with eventually, but right now he’s content to sleep with his brother watching over him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't want to do my latin homework so here we are
> 
> i have a [discord](https://discord.gg/Pwah8sR) where i cry about fictional characters (its more dead than ben rn lol I have no friends) so come check it out and join the klaus hargreaves protection squad


	3. running away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> klaus runs away and ben's there for the ride

Klaus runs away. 

Well. It’s not really running away as much as it’s moving out. He’s eighteen and dear old daddy can’t exactly keep him locked in the house anymore. Diego and Vanya had left the second their birthday ended so really he was a good noodle for sticking around another month. He would have stayed longer except Luther and Allison’s not really flirting and Reggie’s (“Dad would actually kill you if you called him Reggie.” “Shush, Ben. Lemme protest in the only way I know how.”) missions were killing him. He just wanted to chill with Ben and pretend like he didn’t waste the most crucial years of his life working with a madman. 

The problem with moving out is Klaus doesn’t exactly have anywhere to go. Diego is off at some police academy or something, probably lied about who he was to get in, and Vanya’s doing something with her life and attending music school. That means neither of them have an apartment which also means neither of them have a couch he can crash on. Moving out also means he’s cut off from his allowance which really sucks. Klaus wishes he had listened to Ben and saved the last few months instead of spending it on whatever drugs he could get his hands on. (That’s also a thing that happens. Klaus starts taking drugs. He started after Ben died, under the disapproving stare of said dead brother, with the intention of it being a one time thing to stop the constant screaming but once he started he couldn’t stop. A lot of things happened that way.) 

“Could always try the homeless shelter? They might let you stay there a few days,” Ben says. Ben still follows Klaus around. They never figured out how to move him on, Klaus thinks Ben secretly didn’t want to and wasn’t actually trying. At least Ben didn’t look like he had just been killed anymore. After a few hours of trying and lots of childhood pictures they managed to make Ben looked like Ben again. (“Klaus, I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing.” “Well, I don’t either. Look, here’s another one from our first outing. Try and focus on that.”) Figuring out how it works lets Klaus help other spirits, the nice ones, not look so dead anymore either. There are still those who just refuse to clean up but it’s a start and that’s good enough for Klaus. 

“They’ll take one look at me and say no.” 

“They’re not supposed to turn people down.” 

“Aha! The key words being ‘not supposed to’. You know Annie Faist? The nice old lady whose house burned down? They turned her down and now she’s dead.” 

“That’s not exactly what happened…”

“Who can talk to dead people?” Klaus says. Ben stares at him. Klaus stares back. Then Ben says hello to Mr. Carmichael who was murdered. Klaus rephrases:“Who could talk to dead people first?” 

“Fair point. Except Mrs. Faist died before the fire. You complained about seeing her weeks before. Which, speaking of. Why did you never say anything?” 

“Good question. Good question. Now Ben, I’m going to be honest with you here. I don’t have a good answer.” 

“Right. I didn’t expect anything else.” Ben tries to kick at a rock but his foot goes right through. “I’m dead. Why do I still have the same habits I did when I was alive?”

“I don’t know. I think it’s just a you thing. Unless other people liked screaming at teenagers when they were alive. Actually, thinking about it Mrs. Faist did like to yell at me and Diego.” 

“That’s because you two stole her roses to give Mom on Mother's day.” 

Klaus thinks for a moment and says, “Totally worth it.” A group of middle schoolers walking to school stopped to stare at Klaus. He was going to snap at them before realizing he was standing outside the Umbrella Academy talking to himself and the stares went of disgust but of intrigue and wonder, which in his opinion was worse. “Right. Shelter it is.” 

Klaus starts walking. Except it’s the wrong direction as Ben so graciously points out. “You’re heading out of the city. You need to go towards Main Street.” 

“Main Street. Right. Hey, isn’t that where Diego almost killed a guy for hitting on Vanya?”

“Yeah. That’s Main Street. Except that’s the Main Street near the high school. The shelter is on the corner of Main and Cornelius.”

“Did you use to secretly go to the homeless shelter? Is that where you would always disappear off to with Five?” 

“Uh, no. I uh,” Ben blushes. Except Klaus doesn’t think a spirit can blush. Can they look flustered? Because Ben certainly looks flustered. “when you started talking about moving out I started looking into places where you could go. So you wouldn’t be stuck on the street or anything.” 

“Awe, Ben! Мой сосед! Мой брат! I knew you cared.” 

“Yeah, don’t mention it. I did it for me as much as I did it for you. I didn’t really wanna spend the next however many months it’ll take to find a place on the streets.” 

“Admit it, you did it because I’m your favorite.” 

“Haven’t I already said that?” 

“Maybe. Probably. I like hearing it.” 

Ben rolls his eyes. Klaus laughs because it’s his dead brother rolling his eyes at his shenanigans. Klaus likes making people laugh. He really likes making Ben laugh. Ben’s the peanut butter to his jelly, the yin to his yang, the Vanya to his violin. Except that Klaus hates jelly, and he doesn’t know what yin and yang actually mean. The Vanya works. Klaus and Ben both like their sister and her music. 

“What’s the plan after this? Like, where are we going to go?” Ben says. Klaus doesn’t answer. He hadn’t actually thought they would get this far. Klaus was planning on being stopped before they made it out of the house. “I’m guessing you don’t have a plan.” 

“Ben, would I drag you out into this world without a plan?”

“Yes. Yes, you would. You’ve done that before. Remember our fourteenth birthday? We were almost arrested.” 

Klaus lights up. “Ah, yes.” He says clapping his hands together. “But think about how much fun we had, all the memories we made! Running from the police, getting attacked by that cat in the alley, breaking into Diego’s room.” 

“You have a twisted sense of what’s considered fun.” 

“I think you need to let loose. Take a chill pill. I’ve got some somewhere.” Klaus starts digging through his pockets. “I think it’s adderall? That’s not really a chill pill, but it’s a pill. And any pill is a chill pill.” 

“Please don’t use anything.” 

“Ben, my dude. I love you. And appreciate you. But sobriety is for wimps.” 

“At least wait until you’ve found somewhere safe to go.” 

“My god, Ben you’re a genius!” Klaus stops ruffling through his pockets. “Let’s get to the shelter, get some of that delicious soup they always have, and then get fucking wrecked in the back. Perfect plan.” 

“That’s not exactly what I meant.” 

“Sorry, I can’t hear you over what an awesome plan we have.” 

“It’s mediocre at best. I don’t think you should be taking anything. You’re poisoning yourself.” 

“But that means I’m also poisoning them. Which is worth it in my opinion.” 

Neither of them mention that Ben’s included in the “them”. It’s easier not to think about the fact they aren’t actually hanging out and Ben is essentially haunting Klaus. 

“Are they still...Ya know, crowding you when I’m not around?” 

“Don’t go blaming yourself Benny boy. They’ve always bothered me.” 

“I know, but it’s gotten worse since I’ve been around. Don’t try and pretend it hasn’t.” 

“They’re just mad I’m not paying attention to them anymore. Don’t worry about it. They’ll get over it eventually.” 

“Will you survive them until then?” Ben tries to touch Klaus’ except his hand goes right through Klaus. 

“I’ll be fine. It’s just a bad habit. I can quit anytime I want.” 

“That’s the problem. I don’t think you want to.” 

Klaus doesn’t answer. He doesn’t tell Ben that he’s right. He doesn’t tell him he likes the sting, that it makes him feel alive. In some ways, his silence was all the answer Ben needed. 

“I think you should get help.” 

“And tell them what? The ghost of a girl who slit her wrist in a bathtub introduced me to one of the greatest destructions I know? Yeah, I’d rather not get locked up in the psych ward.” 

“Then, talk to someone. Vanya or Diego. I know you don’t want to rely on them but they might be able to help.” 

“I’ll think about. Hey, do you think they have options?” Klaus asks, changing the subject. He knows the conversation will come back up but for now he’s content to ignore the bandages under his sleeves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ive got two more chapters planned for this and then its over lol ive never finished something before this is weird, also ben and klaus are so much fun when it comes to dialogue 
> 
> Мой сосед! (moy sa-c-ed)--my friend  
> Мой брат! (moy bra-t)--my brother


	4. on a bridge

Klaus is standing on a bridge. He’s swaying in the wind, the slightest gust could push him forward. It could cause him to plummet fifty feet into the water below. Would it be the end? He doesn’t know, but he sure hopes so. 

This is about the time Ben would call him an idiot but Ben’s not here. Klaus can’t even remember what they had gotten into an argument about but his ghostly brother had stormed off and been (ha, “been”. Klaus wishes Ben were here to laugh at his dumb jokes) MIA ever since. 

He really had tried to find Ben. He wanted to apologize for whatever he said that made his brother run away. He searched all their spots, places they had gone as children but hadn’t thought about in years, and even walked past the academy hoping to catch a glimpse of his brother in one of the windows. Ben was nowhere. Klaus really hopes he’s not gone for good. Ben is 90% of his impulse control and he doesn’t know what to do without him. 

The ghosts start to notice him again. Without Ben around taking his attention Klaus can’t pretend they’re not there. When they start to notice he’s alone they swarm. It’s gotten to the point that even the drugs aren’t helping. Klaus isn’t even sure what he took. He just wanted them to quiet down, go away. 

“SHUT UP.” He yells at the ghost of a child laughing and trying to push him. Klaus remembers this kid. He used to live a couple streets down from the academy. He was always taunting Klaus and Ben until Luther or Diego stepped in. Klaus thinks he must have fallen one day and now haunts the bridge. It was a rather cliche story but everything about Klaus was cliche. 

Klaus hears someone scream which makes sense considering he looks like he’s about to jump off the bridge. Was he going to jump? He wasn’t actively thinking about it but if he did start to fall he wouldn’t try and catch himself. 

Sirens approached. Maybe Ben will the scene Klaus is causing and come back. Maybe Ben will be the one to save him. Could Ben catch him? Spirits always just went right through him but maybe like could make an exception just this once. 

“Sir, are you alright?” Someone calls from behind him. It’s probably the police. For a second Klaus wonders if Diego’s in their numbers but then he remembered Diego dropped the academy last year. Last he heard his brother was off kicking ass as a vigilante. Klaus could do that. He didn’t have the same skills as his brother but he knew how to fight. It was one of the things they learned as children, something they were constantly drilling. 

“Can you tell us your name?” They say. Klaus knows they’re trying to get him talking. He’s been in enough situations like this to know what they’re doing. If they get him talking, he’ll stay put. Klaus decides to humor then. 

“Kai,” he says not wanting to give his actual name. If they find out he’s a Hargreeves they’ll call his dad and Luther will be sent to pick him up. Klaus doesn’t want to be forced back into his home over something so stupid and selfish. 

“Okay, Kai, how old are you?”

“Does it really matter?” 

“Of course it does.” The officer says. Her voice sounds too sweet. Too nice. Klaus wishes it didn’t because then it won’t hurt as much when he lets go. 

“Twenty-one.” 

“Twenty-one is a nice age. Very fun, lots of new things happening.” 

“If you consider a rapid decline into alcoholism fun, then year. Lots of fun and new things happening.” Shock value was all he was good for. The lady cop goes silent. Klaus can’t tell if it’s because of what he said or…Nope there was definitely something going on on their end. Lots of shouting. Klaus wants them to be quiet, he needs to debate his death in peace.

“Klaus?” A voice calls out to him. They say his name so it’s not the cop-lady. It’s not Ben either. Does the owner really matter? Not when nothing matters anymore. “Klaus, get down.” Klaus stares down at the water. He could easily fall forward. He could play it off as being an accident. He’s always been good at pretending. “Dammit Number Four, look at me!” Oh. That’s his brother but not the one he wants to see. 

Diego climbs up to where Klaus is. He wonders when Diego had gotten here and how he had gotten past the police, he’s pretty sure they wouldn’t let someone climb up next to the suicidal idiot. Diego settles behind him. Klaus also wonders why he decides to stay.

“What do you want, Two?” Klaus says. He holds a little tighter to the railing and tells himself it’s because he wants to and not because he doesn’t want to fall in front of his brother. Diego has been through enough, he doesn’t deserve to watch Klaus jump to his death. 

“I want to know why the hell you look like you’re about to jump.” It wasn’t a question. Nothing about Diego ever asked questions. It had been like that ever since they were young. 

“Oh ya know, I’m just enjoying the view from up here. Very lovely. I’m thinking about getting some Realestate along the river.” 

“Bullshit.” 

“I’m wounded. Do you really think I would lie to you?” 

“I don’t think you would, I know you would. Klaus, you’re the one who convinced dad that we all caught a stomach bug after getting drunk for our sixteenth birthday.” 

“That was trivial. Any of us would have done it.” 

“Except you did. And you looked excited to tell it.” 

“Yes, well, I’m not lying. Why don’t you run along now and go do whatever it is you do. The whole BDSM thing.” Klaus says. He takes a hand off the railing to wave behind at his brother (assuming he’s wearing the leather outfit). It’s supposed to be a quick and easy movement except he starts to slip. He also starts to panic because oh my god, Diego was going to see him die and have to tell the rest of the family that Klaus was an idiot who killed himself by falling off a bridge. 

The moment never comes. Diego lunges forward and grabs hold of Klaus’ wrist, holding him long enough for Klaus to get his grip back on the bridge. Then he doesn’t let go. He keeps his hold on Klaus. 

“Let go.” 

“Not until you’re back over here.” 

“Why do you even care? You haven’t talked to me in years. None of you had. The only person I had was Ben and now he’s gone too.” 

“I care because you’re my brother. You weren’t the only one who grew up in that house. You’re not the only one who dad fucked up with training. I’m not going to say I had it easier than you, none of us did. But that doesn’t mean you can throw everything away. Think about Vanya. How am I supposed to little Number Seven that all of her favorite brothers are dead? Losing Five and Six was bad enough, losing you too would destroy her.” 

Klaus hadn’t thought of Vanya. She was just Number Seven, she’d get over him. But maybe she wouldn’t. Klaus didn’t want to be the reason she was broken beyond repair. It wouldn’t be fair to her. 

“Please, Klaus, just get off the ledge.” 

And then Klaus breaks down. He’s crying, sobbing really, and when Diego helps back down he clings to his brother’s shirt and tries his best to hide from the prying eyes. Everyone from civilians to police were staring at them in shock and Klaus couldn’t handle that right now. 

“Diego,” The lady-cop from earlier says. “We need to talk.” 

“Not right now.” His brother answers. “I’ll stop by and explain things later but right now I’m needed elsewhere.” 

Klaus doesn’t look up so he doesn’t see their reactions. 

He clings to his brother until Diego’s opening the door to a car Klaus was certain didn’t belong to him and ushering him inside. Klaus curls up on the seat, not bothering to use the seatbelt. Diego sighs when he sees and fastens it around his brother. 

“You could have stayed and talked to the lady.” He says as Diego starts driving.

“Too much to explain. They don’t know about us.” 

“About the academy, you mean.”

“Yeah,” Diego sighs. “I didn’t exactly want them to know who I was.” 

Klaus rolls over. “So you lied? Diego, you naughty boy.” He says, trying to smile. 

“Shut up, Klaus.” Klaus does. But he also winks at his brother. “What are you on?” 

“Why are you assuming I’m on anything?”

“I haven’t seen you sober in years.” 

“True. I don’t know. I took something, it was blue? I think. Ben would know. He always knows what I’m taking.” Klaus doesn’t miss the way Diego frowns when he mentions Ben. “I feel great, if that helps.” 

“I doubt you feel that great,” Diego says. Klaus doesn’t let him know he’s right and that his head is pounding and he feels like he’s been hit by a bus. He rolls back over. “I have a couch.” Diego offers. 

Klaus doesn’t answer. He doesn’t know how long he’ll stay if Diego lets him. He doesn’t know if Ben is ever going to come back. But he’s alive and right now that’s enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more chapter to go
> 
> it could be up tonight
> 
> it could be up in a month
> 
> who knows

**Author's Note:**

> this might never get updated but good lord i love klaus hargreeves hes the representation we deserve
> 
> i have a [discord](https://discord.gg/Pwah8sR) where i cry about fictional characters (its more dead than ben rn lol I have no friends) so come check it out and join the klaus hargreaves protection squad


End file.
